Lifting the Curse of the Blue Diamond: Explaining the Normalization of Relations Between Saudi Arabia and Thailand
Date
2023-03-31
DOI
Authors
Al Tamimi, Lila
Version
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
Thirty years ago, Saudi Arabia downgraded their diplomatic and economic relationship with Thailand due to a series of crimes that occurred between 1989 and 1990. Namely, a gem heist committed by a Thai janitor in Riyadh, murders of multiple Saudi diplomats, and the disappearance of a prominent Saudi businessman rapidly soured their bilateral ties. As the Gulf Kingdom has staunchly maintained its condition that Thailand must apprehend responsible parties before normalization can occur, unsuccessful attempts from previous Thai administrations has kept the prospect of normalization at bay. Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia and Thailand announced their decision to normalize relations on January 25th, 2022. What shifted in this critical juncture that led the two countries to normalization? In contrast to speculation that economic incentives primarily influenced the decision, I argue that changes in executive power within Saudi Arabia and Thailand were the critical factors that led to normalization. Using qualitative data from news articles, government reports, and interviews as well as quantitative data from third party and government sources, I exhibit how Prayuth Chan-o-cha and Mohammed bin Salman’s rise to power enabled them to institute reforms of the country’s domestic and foreign policy objectives that characterized normalization as beneficial to state interest. I conclude my analysis by examining Saudi Arabia and Thailand’s converging foreign policy interests in the face of shifting geopolitics between the United States and China.
Description
License
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States